The Ternion-Ace

[Nara-chan 38]

Me and Martina (my friend) have noticed that BO members never get replaced.
This story aims to change that.

Chapter 1- A Challenge from the Trio
Ran's POV
(by my friend)
Soka! I remember when I first met them! I was practicing at Beika Park when:
"Mouri Ran-senpai, right? I am Kani Hiruno, member of the Teitan Middle School Gymnastics Team. I've heard many stories about you!"
"Uh, hai. I'm Mouri Ran."
"Your father is the meitantei Mouri Kogoro, right? My two friends are suiri otakus, and they would like to meet him! Can we, Ran-senpai?", begged Kani-san.
"Sure!" I liked this kid. She seemed nice.
A while later, Kani-san and I had changed clothes and were in front of the Detective Agency with two other girls.
"Ran-senpai, this is Fukano Nara," She pointed to a short haired girl wearing glasses.
"Konnichiwa.", she said.
"And this is Kusakabe Narita." She indicated a long-haired bepspectacled girl.
"Anata ni au ii.", she said.

"We've been detectives since we were young!" said Narita-san.

"Really? You remind me of Shinichi.."

"Kokose-tantei Kudo Shinichi? You know him? Oh gosh, he is my idol!" said Nara-san.

"But he has mysteriously disappeared..Is your husband contacting you?" said Narita-san with a smirk.

"Hu-hu-husband? We are childhood friends, but we're not married!" I felt my cheeks burning. "Who told you that?"
"Suzuki Sonoko-senpai."

"Taku, I'm going to give her an earful...maybe about Kyoguku-san.." I muttered
"May we see the detective legend, Mouri Kogoro-sama? We have a challenge for him!", said Nara.
"Hai, hai!", said Narita.
I smiled. "Come on in! Assuming he's not drunk, he should welcome admirers like you with open arms!", I said.
I opened the door. Ugh, he WAS drunk..
"Kyaaa! I can't believe I'm seeing the great Nemuri no Kogoro!", exclaimed Narita.
"Ran-chaaaaan, don't bring strangers heeerrreeee..", said otou-san.
"Otou-san, these are not strangers! These are my friends, Kani Hiruno-san, Fukano Nara-san, and Kusakabe Narita-san." I answered.
Otou-san got out of his drunken stupor and said, "Wow! I did not know Ran-chan had three beautiful and sexy friends! Dozo, dozo!"
I heard Kani-san stifle a giggle. Ugh, this was so embarrasing....
"Mouri-tantei, we wish to be your apprentices!", said Narita as soon as she sat down.
"Sorry, but otou-san already has an apprentice: Amuro-san.", I answered for him.
"Awwwwww," whined Nara-san.

"Hehehehe, if only I could have more apprentices, I would surely take you in! But too much apprentices can be bad for the meitantei Mouri Kogoro.." There he goes, showing off again.
"Can you just please hear this challenge out? I know this will be a piece of cake for you, Mouri-tantei.", said Narita-san.
"Okayyy, start!!"
"Tadaima! Ran-neechan, who are those?". asked a voice.
Conan-kun had arrived, and he also brought the others!
"Oh, welcome home, Conan-kun! These are my new friends, Kani Hiruno-san, Fukano Nara-san and Kusakabe Narita-san. They were going to present a challenge to otou-san.", I said.
"Oh! You're that kid who's that thief's nemesis!" said Narita-san with a wink.

"And these are his friends: Yoshida Ayumi-chan, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko-kun, Kojima Genta-kun and...hey, where's Ai-chan?"

"Ai-chan?" asked Nara-san. She suddenly seemed interested.

"Oh, she's that girl that's about my height! She has long, curly black hair and she always makes us laugh! She's out camping today, so she's not with us" said Conan-kun.

"Bu-"

"Heyyyy! The challleenngge!!" Oops, forgot about otou-san. 

"Okay, here goes. You are at a party of chemist Ichikawa Asami-san. The guests are Katsuki Shima, Mimori Yuiki, and Kaname Yuu. They are all waiting in the living room of Asami-san's house. Then, Asami-san arrives. She is carrying a large bag, and says she will be back soon, that she will rest for a while.", begins Nara.
"Then, after 2 hours, Asami-san has still not come down. She goes up and checks. To her horror, Asami-san's head was on the computer table!", continues Narita.
I gasped. That must have been pretty scary.
"Yuiki runs back down and starts calling the police, but then, there is a large explosion in the neighboring empty lot! It was set in fire! The three run outside and start dousing the fire."
"When the firemen were called, the police arrived. Yuiki led them up to Asami-san's room. The head was gone, and there was a dying message: there was blood in the keys "1" and "5" of the computer!"
"There was a knock, and a redhead came flying in. She was Sumika Belle, the Japanese-American actress who was a friend of Asami-san. She started crying and asking the police what had happened. They questioned everyone, but they all said they didn't see each other since they had taken different sides during the fire.The room's doors and windows were locked from the inside. The search only resulted in the large bag and some clothes. Is this a murder, or a suicide?", finished Nara.
Everyone started thinking. Who did it?, I wondered.


Well, how was it?
Nara's name comes from my name, and "fukano" is impossible.
Narita comes from Code Geass Episode 9(?)- Battle for Narita.
Kusakabe comes from Mari Kusakabe, the woman who helped Mirai and Yuki in Tokyo Magnitude 8,0
Katsuki Shima is a character in Clannad: After Story
Mimori comes from Misaki-chan, and Yuiki comes from MeitanteiSnow.
PM/post on my wall/reply to this topic if you have a solution and/or questions (the key here is the dying message. I'm pretty much after that.)

Next Chapter's Hint: Occupation!
EDIT: Seems too vague... Okay, Next Chapter's Hint!: 15 or 51!
Another Edit: I'll post the next chapter if at least 1 gets the dying message..

[Nara-chan 38]

Martina has shown up on this forum as maruchinakid12912 You can PM her too..
(OK lang nemar?)
(Getting impatient with the answers... <_< <_< )y

Chapter 2- For Real
"Well, Mouri-tantei, have you solved the case?", asked Nara a while later.
"Weeelll, itzzz a suicide, obyosleee." Drat. Still drunk.
"I think not..", said Conan-kun behind me.
Narita-san looked surprised. "Well, who do you think it is?"
"I think the culprit is.....Sumika Belle-san!" said Conan-kun
"Matte! Belle-san wasn't even there at the party!" I said.
"It's about the dying message. Since Asami-san was a chemist, she should know about The Periodic Table of Elements. The dying message was '51' Element number 51 is Antimony, or Sb. Her initials in English are the letters S and B."
"What if it was planted?", asked Mitsuhiko-kun.
"Nara-neesan mentioned that all the windows were locked from the inside, also the door. There was no one who could enter, except Asami-san. Belle-san was an actress, so latex masks are easily available. Mimicking voices was probably no problem. The Asami-san everyone saw was Belle-san. Probably, Asami-san was dead long before. That's why her head and body were thrown in the fire: to prevent the police from knowing what the time of death was based on the rigor mortis."
Everyone was quiet. Nara smiled really big. "Mouri-tantei's skills must have rubbed off on you! Correct on all points!"
Kani-san looked at her watch. "Oh gosh, it's almost 17:00! Better go now, Ran-senpai!"
The threesome ran out of the door.
"I think I just saw a trio of angels...", I heard Mitsuhiko-kun mutter.
"Me too.." said Genta-kun. 

"Okay, it's dinner time! Let's eat! You too, Shonen Tantei-dan!"

"Yay!! Itadakimasu!"

After dinner, I sent the kids home.

"You three better go home now! Your parents must already be worried.", I said.

"Mate-yo! Conan-kun, why did you lie about Ai-chan? Ai-chan is a brunette, and she isn't on a camping trip, she's sick!" said Ayumi-chan.

"Oh, about that, if we just met them, why were they so interested in Haibara? Haibara isn't the kind of girl to go public. They could be searching for her and using us as bait, since we know her. They may be faking their identities to somehow find her"

I stared at him. For a 7-year old kid, he sure could think like...like...

"I got that on TV! Hehehe.. but I'm just a kid...Don't listen to me..."
"Okay! Sayonara, Conan-kun, Ran-neesan!" said Ayumi-chan.
Mitsuhiko-kun and Genta-kun were still in a daze when they left.
Puppy love is so cute!
Suddenly, Amuro-san burst through the door. Conan-kun looked at him like he was his worst enemy. He's been like that since we boarded the Mystery Train..
"Mouri-sensei! We have a case at the Park Hyatt Hotel!" he said. "And the police think the victim is the serial killer from one year ago," His look turned steely. "The Tottori Red Car Serial Murder Case."
Red car? Oh, that serial murderer in Tottori that uses suicide-like methods!
"What are youu waiting forr?? Letzz go!!" cried otou-san.

-End of Chapter 2-

Next Chapter's Hint: My status  (The status updated Nov. 8)

[Nara-chan 38]

Chapter 3- A Serial Murder?
Ran's POV

When we got off Amuro-san's car, we were met by Megure-keibu. He took us to a secluded place, where there was a tree painted red with a woman hanging upside-down on it!
"The victim's name is Nateru Ayari, 26 years old. She died about 30 minutes ago because of four bulket wounds: one on the right foot, one in her temple and two in her abdomen. She and her three friends were asked to paint one side of the Park Hyatt Hotel when they were vacationing here. Those three friends were Kano Tsunju-san, Kawakana Nansai-san and Matthew Heal-san. Tsunju-san, who is jobless, said she was sightseeing on her balcony. Nansai-san, a salesman, said he was taking a bath. Matthew-san said he was searching for a restaurant famous in America here."
"Mmmmmm..." said Amuro-san and he began thinking. "Conan-kun! What are you doing?" I asked him. He was peering at the corpse.
"I see something." He pointed to a spot next to Ayari-san's head and I made out the figures )92
"Kyuu-juu ni?" I thought.
"Ayari? Well, she was quite the technosapien, along with Matthew, and she loved to make codes! She also spoke English so fluently that no one but Matthew understood her. But she was clumsy too..."
While my back was turned, Conan-kun had asked Tsunju-san some questions!
"Conan-kun! Don't interfere! Sorry. he just likes playing detective..." I said with an apologetic look.
"It's alright." said Tsunju-san.
"Taku, Ayari did like that. It just pains me to know I couldn' t solve them," said a voice. It was Nansai-san!
"Wow, Nansai! You surprised me! You were like creeping up on me!" said Tsunju-san.
"I'm not really good at that.." And with that he went back to his business.

"Kyaaaaaa!" I screamed.

"Ran! Stop overreacting! We've been gawking at this corpse for 10 minutes already!" cried otou-san.

"Ah, sumimasen, but I just saw a silhouette run into the bushes!"

"NANI?!" Conan-kun and Amuro-san ran to the place I pointed out and searched the bushes.

"There's no one here.. Maybe you were just hallucinating, Ran-neechan."

"O..kay..." I wasn't so sure I was hallucinating.
"Um, Ran-neechan? I'll just go to the bathroom.." Conan-kun muttered.
"Oh, sure." I said. He hurried into the hotel.
"Shhh, let's go follow Conan-kun." whispered Amuro-san.

We went inside. Amuro-san checked the boy's bathroom, but he was not there!
"Uh, Reception? Did you see a little boy go in here?" I asked.
"Hai! He went upstairs."

I had a hunch on where he was going.
"Well, can you please give me the room numbers of Nateru Ayari, Matthew Heal, Kano Tsunju and Kawakana Nansai?"
"It's from Room 217 to Room 220"
"Thanks.." We ran upstairs to the second floor to Room 217.
"Conan-kun?"

"Ah! Why are you here, Ran-neechan?"

"We sort of followed you.." said Amuro-san..
"Conan-kun! You said you were going to go to the bathroom!" I yelled.
"Sumimasen, but oji-san asked me to gather information." He started looking at objects in the room.

"Can we join you?" asked Amuro-san.

Conan-kun looked like he was about to protest, but I said, "Come on! What are you doing, Conan-kun?"

"I observed some unusual stuff in the rooms. The first three had paint, this one has none, bu it has a defective Ipad from the US." He held up a gadget.

"May I see your notes?" I asked. He handed them to me. 
I saw his notes in careful handwriting:
Kawakana Nansai- Room 220
Doorknob: Paint (only outside)
Doorknob of Bathroom (inside and outside): Paint

Kano Tsunju- Room 219

Doorknob: Paint

Curtains and Veranda- Paint

Matthew Heal- Room 218

Doorknob: Paint

Faucet: Paint

 

He penned down "Nateru Ayari- Room 217. Inside: Clothes and a defective Ipad."
"I swear Ran-neechan. I am going to make a call to Ha-, Heiji-niisan about this case!" said Conan-kun.
I sighed. "Okay." and he ran outside. Sometimes Conan-kun was just like Shinichi, a deduction maniac. He even looked like him.
Maybe..
No, that's crazy. I've been proven wrong many times already.
I sighed. "Amuro-san, let's go back."

"Sure."

Mwahahahahahaahahaha!! I just like eppies where Ran suspects Conan!!!
Next Chapter's Hint: Paint

[Nara-chan 38]

(Nara-chan is back! Just came back from a Sales Inventory contest...Have you solved the code?)

(I made such a difficult trick for the following murders, that I will respect the person that will get the trick!)

Chapter 4- The Silhouette

Ran's POV

"What's taking Conan-kun so long? It's been almost three hours, and Hattori-kun isn't the type of person to talk with you straight for such a long period of time.." I muttered.

"There he is!" said Amuro-san. Conan-kun had a face like he had already solved the case.

"He's scary, isn't he?" whispered Amuro-san. I didn't respond.

"Kyaaaa..." I heard a familiar sound. After three hours, Nemuri no Kogoro had finally appeared!

"Keibu, I have finally found the truth behind this bloody murder."

"Ahh! Mouri-kun! What is it?"

"When Conan talked to Tsunju-san and he reported back to me, my senses hit me."

"Chotto mate-yo! Are you saying I'm the murderer?" said Tsunju-san.

"No. The murderer is: Kawakana Nansai-san!"

"Wait! Show me proof!" cried Nansai-san.

"Tsunju-san said that Ayari-san was a technosapien, a code lover and a clumsy person, ne?"

"Hai."

"So she was the one who spilled paint all over your fingers?"

"How did you know?" asked Tsunju-san.

"Since she was clumsy, is highly probable that she did spill something. But the paint in your rooms prove my point. All three of your rooms have paint on the doorknobs facing the hallway."

"Tsunju-san also said that Matthew-san was also a technosapien. According to his alibi, he was searching for a restaurant famous in America here. Since he is a technosapien, he would probably not want his computer, or tablet, or anything be damaged by paint, so he washed his hands."

Conan-kun came out from behind otou-san and handed Megure-keibu a picture."This is a picture of Matthew-san's faucet. It had a big paint stain on the faucet knob that I found when oji-san sent me upstairs!"

He ran back into the shadows, and otou-san continued. "Tsunju-san said she was sightseeing on her balcony. She left paint stains on the curtains leading to the balcony and on the base of one of the balcony's rails, meaning she was holding on to the rails." Once again, Conan-kun appeared and gave Keibu two pictures.

"Nansai-san said he was taking a bath, but why would paint be on the other side of the bathroom doorknob when taking a bath should have washed it away? Furthermore, there should be paint on the knob of the shower."

"My hypothesis is that after Ayari sent you all up, you called her to meet you at a certain place, which is this dear tree over here. When you saw through your window that she was there, you shot her in the right foot with a silenced pistol, and jumped down. Normally, this would result in probable death, but since you were on the second floor, it was probably no sweat. You then hung her upside down, and shot her three more times. After painting the tree red, you then climbed back up with this."

Otou-san held up a rope ladder. "As I said, I had Conan ransack the suspects' rooms. He then found this."

Nansai-san huffed. "So what if I have paint stains on the back side. I was dizzy back then, and I accidentally touched the doorknob while the paint was still wet! And that rope ladder is for emergencies, like a burglary, for a quick escape! And even if I jumped down from my room, I would have been sprained! What weak proof."

"The jumping-down part? Oh, that's easy. You were wearing padded shoes. Tsunju-san was surprised when you were behind her, because she didn't hear you. Men technically should produce louder footsteps than women, but when you were walking away, you didn't make a sound. Also, the dying message."

"Huh?"

")92 is connected to this." He held up a gadget. "This is an Ipad from the US. It has a hardware problem, that's why it's moving by itself. I tried to type something, but then, I solved the code. Conan!"

Conan-kun once again came from the darkness. "The first keyboard is QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM, the second 1234567890-/:;()$&@(undo symbol).,?!'". If you exclude z and x, which is occupied by the undo sign, every letter in the alphabet has an equivalent in the second keyboard. If you find a letter equivalent of the open parenthesis, it would be the letter 'H', the 9, 'O', and the 2, 'W'. 'H', 'O' and 'W' are English letters that spell "How". If 'Nansai' is translated to English, it would be 'How old?' Probably Nansai-san killed her before she could finish."

Nansai-san had his head down. "Wait! Then that means HE is the serial murderer?!" said Tsunju.

"No. This case is different." answered otou-san.

"It was all for Tomi...." muttered Nansai-san.

"Tomi? Miura Tomi, your former koibito?" asked Tsunju-san

"She was killed in a suicide-like way by that vile serial murderer, Nateru Ayari! She was the only suspect without an alibi, so it's obvious that it's her! But those stupid police acquitted her, and Tomi still hasn't had her justice! Yes, I left some tracks, but I thought the police were still as stupid as ever. Boy, I was wrong." he chuckled.

"Ayari was really not the culprit!She gave up her alibi for you and your sister, because you were out at that time, so she feared they might suspect you two! She did it.....because she loved you." said Tsunju-san with tears in her eyes.

"Lies!"

Tsunju-san took the gadget and removed the case. A piece of paper fell to the grass. Tears started to form in Nansai-san's eyes. I got curious and bent over to read.

Nansai,

I'm really sorry about Miura-san. I could tell that you were both very happy with each other. But then...

I must be really selfish to write this, but I was actually kind of happy, because then I could have you.

Right, all of those visits to your house for "projects" was actually just an excuse to see you.

I like you. A lot.

-Ayari

As the police took him away, he wailed, "Is love really that blind?!"

I couldn't help but feel sorry for him..

Amuro-san woke up otou-san and he was back in baka mode again.

"Mouri-sensei, how did you know it was just a connected case and not a real one?" he asked.

"Ahh..." stammered otou-san.

"It was because of Ayari-san's body!" exclaimed Conan-kun.

"The tree was painted red because the car the serial murderer left at the scene was red. There were four bullet wounds, meaning four wheels!" he explained.

"Wow! You sure know a lot about this case, Conan-kun!" I said.

"Uhhh..Heiji-niisan told it to me!" he said.

Now I'm really getting suspicious of him...

I looked at my watch. "Oh gosh! It's almost 23;00! We better go!"

So we piled into Amuro-san's car and started off.

"Say, Ran-neechan? Do you know who that silhouette earlier was?" asked Conan-kun.

"Dunno," I answered.

We continued driving.

(Very cheesy...drat. Also, that part about the Ipad, PM me if you don't get it!)

Next Chapter's Hint: All weathers.

[Nara-chan 38]

(Thank you for 100+ views :))

Chapter 5- The Haido Mall Murder

Conan's POV

Ran was reminiscing about that case with those three. Yeah, it was normal, butwhat really creeped me out was that part with Haibara and the Sumika Belle-san part, because it sounded like...Vermouth..

Funny, that time Haibara was sick and now she is again..

Ran finally stopped and got back to her book.

"Ran-neechan, what is that?" I asked.

"Oh, Conan-kun! It's just that this book by Mai Sango is so cool!"

Mai Sango?! The anonymous famous author? My father was a fan of her!

"But...there's something weird with this.. Her About Me page."

"Huh?"

"It's in English, so can you please translate?" she said.

She handed me the book, and I read the About Me page out loud.

"Four tiny brown peas in a red circle as big as a giant is a fiction novel I don't have with the world.

With this, I bought things that made me sick and throw up.

Now, I search for a lick with a changed letter

And it becomes a drop of blood hanging on a branch.

My obsession is the opposite of a car filled with blood

If you think this is B, it's not, it's her sister."

"Hmmm, so Mai Sango is the sister of a certain B, eh?" said Ran.

"Seems so.."

"Ran-senpai!!" called a voice.

It was Kusakabe Narita!

"I was on my way to your father's agency, because of a murder at Haido Mall!"

Ran gasped. "Please tell us all the details. We will tell them to Kogoro-ojisan!" I said.

She smiled. "Okay. Nara, Hiruno and I were walking to school when I heard somebody scream. He was pointing at a woman with a knife impaled in her chest! Immediately, I ran over to her and checked her pulse, but it was too late. I pulled the knife out, and told Hiruno to call the police. But seconds after that...I found this."

She held up a bloody car. A red car.

"You don't mean...she was a victim of the serial murderer?" asked Ran.

"Yeah, I think so. When the police arrived, they questioned everyone, including this red-haired woman who said she was acrime photographer named Kameyama Riki. They had a really big fight." Narita giggled at the memory.

"Aaah, Kameyama Riki-san! I saw her on one case!" said Ran.

"Can you please tell your otou-san? I'm going to be late for school..Well, sayonara, Ran-senpai, Conan-kun!"

She ran away.

"Ran-neesan! Conan-kun!" called a voice. It was Ayumi-chan!

"Well, we have to go now, Ran-neechan! Sayonara!" I said.

"Sayonara, Conan-kun and Shonen Tantei-dan!" she called back.

(Arigato Rye-neechan for giving me name ideas!)

Next Chapter's Hint: Metal

[Nara-chan 38]

(I'm baack! Now please don't question me why I was always online, because I never log off DCW, even if I'm not using it!)

 

Chapter 6- At the Scene

Conan's POV

 

"Eeeehhh? Narita-neesan talked to you?"

Mitsuhiko and Genta were asking, no, interrogating me about my little talk with Narita.

"Well, yeah.." I said.

"And what did she say?!"

I was about to answer when I saw two familiar figures slink into an alley. "Um, I'll tell you later. Can you do me a favor? Please tell Kobayashi-sensei that I'll be absent today!"

"Uh, okay, Conan-kun, but-"

"Let him be." I heard Haibara say, immediately followed by a sneeze.

I ran into familiar alleyways and roads, and turned the final corner into the Mouri Detective Agency, where the two were just climbing up the stairs. 

"Nara-neesan! Hiruno-neesan!" I called. They turned back, obviously surprised, and Ran went out of the room, book in hand. 

"Ran-neechan! I thought you went to school!" I cried.

"I just went back here to get something, but what are you doing here, Conan-kun?"

"Um, I-"

"Ran-senpai! There you are!" said Nara, noticing Ran standing there. "I guess you already know about the case..."

"Hai! Narita-neesan told us about it." I said.

"We just wanted to ask a certain detective to go with us.." said Hiruno. I had this weird feeling that they were staring at me..

"Oh, otou-san's away!" said Ran.

"No, we meant him!" said Nara. I knew it..

"Um, okay!"

"But has cla-"

"It's okay, Ran-neechan. I told my friends to tell Kobayashi-sensei!" I said.

She sighed. "Fine. Well, I'll go to school now." she said, picking up her Mai Sango book and her bag. "Sayonara!"

-----------

"Oi! Over here!"

Narita was waiting for us on the steps of Haido Mall. Police cars were parked everywhere, but she didn't seem to mind them. "I see you brought him. Ever since he solved that challenge of yours.." She trailed off.

"Well, let's go inside!" said Nara

"Oi! Don't forget us!" Ran and Occhan were standing behind us! How'd they get here so fast?

"I met up with otou-san on the streets and told him about the case. He begged me to take him here. Now it's his fault that I'm going to be late." said Ran.

"Uh, now can we go inside?"

-----------------

"Ah, Mouri-kun!" Megure-keibu was in front of a restaurant filled with police lines. "I suppose you're going to ask about the case." he said.

"Ah, hai!" said Occhan.

"Ah, well, the victim's name is Kitagawa Masayo-san, 29 years old. She was found dead in a bathroom cubicle with a broken window. This young lady took the victim's pulse." he said, indicating Narita. 

"Ah, Narita-neesan? I thought you said that you were on your way to school, but why did you take the trouble of entering the mall?" I asked.

"Well, I went to the bathroom inside the mall. I was about to leave when I heard the scream." she answered.

"Ahem..Then, a woman forcefully entered the crime scene and had a little scuffle with the police." continued Megure-keibu.

"Was that woman Kameyama Riki-san?" I asked, remembering what Narita told us earlier.

"Yes. A crime photographer of some renown." he answered. "Would you like to see the crime scene, Mouri-kun?"

"Ah-" occhan started, but he was interrupted by the arrival of..

"Mouri-sensei! I came, as promised. So, how's the investigation?"

I turned and saw that Narita was speechless, wide-eyed and deathly pale. "So, Mouri-sama, this is your apprentice?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yes, Amuro-kun here is my apprentice." answered occhan.

"May I be excused?" asked Narita, and she promptly walked away. "Matte-yo! Narita!!" yelled the others, and they chased after her. "Who were they, Mouri-sensei?" he asked, although I think from Narita's reaction that he already knows who she is.

"Ah, those are the ones who wanted to be my apprentices." answered occhan.

"Ahem. Now, the crime scene?"

--------

"Ooohh."

A woman was lying down, lifeless, on a floor filled with glass shards from the above broken window. "Have you questioned whoever went into the bathroom after her?" I asked.

"There was just one: Kameyama Riki-san, the crime photographer I mentioned earlier. She's being questioned right now."

"So it's possible it's her.." I heard Ran mutter behind me.

 "But would't she try to escape? The broken window could be a diversion. And it seems a little too simple: going into the bathroom, killing Masayo-san and simply walking away, ne? And this is a part of The Tottori Serial Murder Case last year because of the red car Narita-neesan showed us. If Riki-san was the killer, she would have to be in Tottori last year.She has never left Tokyo this year, so she's not the killer." I answered. After I said that, I wish I could have took it back, because she was staring at me with this look that she gets whenever she's suspicious.

"That's true. Riki-san isn't the murderer, so this case must be a suicide." he said.

"Oh gosh! I'm really late for school!" exclaimed Ran. "I have to leave now for school."

"Hmmm, now that the case is resolved, everyone can go. Thank you all for your time."

------

Later, I called Hakase. 

"Moshi moshi? Ah, Shinichi!"

"Hakase, I need you to research on the Tottori Serial Murder Case last year.."

[Nara-chan 38]

Chapter 7- Welcome Burger
Haibara's POV

"Seriously Hakase? We have to walk to Welcome Burger?!"
 I sneezed as Kojima-kun complained. We were on our way to Welcome Burger, the most famous fast-food chain in Beika, for my "Yay-you-got-well! party"
 "Well, Hakase's Beetle wouldn't have broken down if a certain person didn't always insist to go to Tottori..." I muttered under my breath.
 "Oi, oi!" said that certain person.
 "Well, your suffering ends here, kids. We're here!"
----------
"Seriously? I just want to be free at least to eat! Can't you give me at least that?"
 We had entered into a screaming match. When the kids had saw the Golden W, they had cheered. Now, they're just staring at this screaming redhead woman.
 "But, Riki-san.."
 "No buts! As if I'll try to escape! Just watch me from there!" said the woman. She huffed and marched over to a table.
 The kids were gaping at the scene. As the two bodyguards were apologizing, Hakase found us a seat, but was stopped by a waitress in pigtails.
 "Excuse me, sir, but you can't sit here! Our manager has blocked this part for renovation. How about you sit over there?" She pointed at the table next to that screaming woman, which I was not so enthusiastic about.
 "Oh, arigato, Mei-san." Hakase said, squinting at her nameplate
 She smiled, and led us to our table, where that woman was typing away on her phone. She lifted her glasses and gasped. "You're that kid at the mall!"
 "Huh?" asked Kudo-kun, obviously perplexed. "Oh! At the Haido Mall? So you're.."
 She made the thumbs-up sign. "Kameyama Riki, crime photographer! As if you'd believe all this stuff about me murdering this Kitagawa Masayo woman! I don't even know her!" She raised her hands in exasperation.
  "Kameyama Riki? Oh, gosh! M-Narita! You've gotta see this!"
 "Hmm? Oh!" The girl turned around, long-hair and all, and said, "Well, this is a good day! I get to meet my idol and the cute detective boy!" She reached over and pinched Kudo-kun's cheeks, which he was obviously not happy about. She faced me. "You're Haibara Ai-chan, right? Nice to meet you!" She reached out her hand, and I shook it.
 Hakase arrived with 2 trays of food. "Oh, you must be Agasa-hakase!" cried the short-haired girl. 
 Hakase looked at her. "Conan-kun, are these the three girls you told me about?"
 "Hai, hakase."
 "Don't worry about ordering for us. We already ordered." said the girl in the pink scarf. "Bon appetit!"
------------
 I was munching on a burger when that feeling surfaced. That feeling that sends shivers down my spine. That feeling that they-the ones who murdered Onee-san-are nearby.
 The kids must have noticed it, because Yoshida-san immediately asked me if I was okay. I said I was fine, but all the while I was sending a message to Kudo-kun: They're here
 "So, neesans, why are you here?" asked Tsuburaya-kun, hoping to start a conversation.
 "Ah, Hatoyama Arata, a friend of ours, invited us here." said the one named Kani Hiruno. "He's so nice, after asking a favor from him, he still insists on inviting us here!"
 "I'll just go to the bathroom." said Kusakabe Narita as she stood up.
 "Nice change of topic!" called Hiruno as Narita walked away.
 Riki, who was typing away on her phone, looked at the middle-school girl as she walked away. "Yes, Hatoyama Arata. His father is a friend of mine...." she mused.
 BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
 I almost jumped as Riki snuck a look at her phone. "Haruna calls. I have to leave for a sec, kay?"
---------------
 We continued eating. It was perfectly normal until we heard a scream.
 Awaitress ran to the cashier and whimpered, "The manager's dead.."
 "Nani?! Someone, call the police!" 
 The security guards locked the doors while people scurried around in fright. Meanwhile, Kudo-kun had gotten out of his seat and ran through the door. "Chotto, Conan!" cried Kojima-kun and the kids all leaped from their seats, leaving me no choice but to follow them.
 We found Kudo-kun gaping at the crime scene. A woman with a knife impaled in her chest was staring at us with blank, lifeless eyes. It was brutal, but I saw the reason why Kudo-kun was gaping.
 It was the red car on its side, next to the victim.
--------
 "The victim's name is Yamada Haruna, 43 years old, and a manager of this Welcome Burger branch. According to this witness..."
"Only Mei and that woman went in!"
 The waitress earlier was in hysterics, but it was clear: only Koshiko Mei, the waitress in pigtails earlier, and Kameyama Riki went in the manager's office.
 Kudo-kun was sitting dejectedly on our table, zooming in the picture he discreetly took of the crime scene. He had been driven out of the room and made to sit there. He kept alternating between two pictures.
 "Hey, Haibara. Look at this."
 He motioned to me and zoomed into a picture of the Haido Mall murder, the scene where Narita was pulling the knife out of Masayo. "Well, that's curious, but..how did you know that? You little.."
 "Stop! But yeah, it's weird. And look at this.." He switched to the photo of the crime scene. He zoomed in above Haruna-san's head. "See? Those things are missing, replaced by.."
 "Yes, yes, I get it. Metal. So the only one who could be able to do it is that person?" I asked.
 He nodded grimly. "Here's another piece of evidence." We walked to the marker that said:
 Welcome Burger-Beika 6th District Branch
 Manager: Yamada Haruna
 Special Thanks to the Hatoyama Group of Companies
 "Remember what she said?" he asked. "I just need one more piece of evidence."
 I had to keep mysef from throttling him. "You little..."
 "Um, about that feeling.." he quickly said.
 "Yeah, they're definitely here. You have to check that place, even if it will bring you great joy."
 "Yeah."

 

(Did I just realize I was septuplet posting? Oh well..And no chapters until someone figures out who murdered Haruna and what trick he/she used! Well, except for Astraculpa...*smirks*)

[astraculpa 22]

well,.your.double double double posting ends here

[Nara-chan 38]

New Years' Eve!

No one's been able to solve the code and case..

But I'll keep on waiting!

Feel free to PM!

Hints:

What would the picture Conan was staring at contain?

Why did Haibara reprimand Conan?

Who was the BO member Haibara sensed?

Haibara said something about metal. What could that be?

Next Chapters Hint: LIVE